Thanksgiving in Turkey

"Hola" from Istanbul.

We met friend, Lisa (pictured above) and new friend

 Judy (not pictured) in Istanbul

 for Thanksgiving weekend. You’ll

see quite a few “not pictured” notations throughout

 this posting because Deb lost 

all of her photos (arghh….)

 Someone referred to the people of Istanbul as “Muslim lite.”

 We hope that wasn't meant to be derogatory, but it may be an apt

description. The government is officially “secular," with clear separation of church (or

mosque) and state. Alcohol is served in many places and head scarves on women

are banned from government buildings and universities. Nevertheless, you can’t escape that it’s

an Islamic city. Walking down the street you will suddenly hear the call to prayer over

 a loudspeaker from a minaret. This chanting, which ripples throughout

 the city, happens five times per day and most people on the streets don’t break stride. 

We never saw anyone veer to a nearby mosque or drop to their

knees (although it's likely some did). Prayer is one of the pillars

of Islam, but praying in the mosque is not obligatory except 

on Friday, their holy day. Prayer, like religion, appears to be a private

 matter here in Istanbul.

Istanbul is a tourist "mecca." In one day you can take in the top four sites: 

Blue Mosque, Hagia Sofia, Basilica Cistern, and the 

Topkapi Palace. Here are a few shots of each:

Blue Mosque: one of the few mosques in the world to have six minarets.

Muslims are required to perform ablutions before 
they enter the mosque for prayer. 

Hagia Sophia: Formerly an Orthodox Basilica, then 
a mosque, and now a museum.

 Christian images and Arabic calligraphy, side-by-side.

Immense and beautifully illuminated with circular chandeliers.

Basilica Cistern: This subterranean cistern provided 
water for ancient Constantinople.
Walkways allow visitors to explore this huge underground area.
 Very eerie.

Topaki Palace: Primary residence of the Ottoman Sultans for 400 years.
This place was immense, one room after another.

Harem rooms were gorgeously tiled, with comfy lounging areas.

Ultimately, for us, what makes a trip memorable is wandering down streets, 

taking in the ambiance and stumbling on unexpected finds.

 That’s what happened on our second day.

  We decided to walk across a bridge that spanned the Bosphorus Strait

 to the Asian side of Istanbul.

We were so proud of ourselves for 

setting foot in Asia. 

(We found out later that we were

not in Asia; we took the wrong bridge!)

Not knowing where to go, we just wandered around for a bit. 

And then, by chance, we found a mosque. 

It was open with a lone guard, and no one else. 

The guard encouraged us

to enter.

We took our shoes off at the door (not pictured) and 

walked on the plush Oriental carpet.

The guard turned on the low hanging lights, and we 

had the place to ourselves.

It was quiet. The mosque was beautiful. No furniture. 

No pictures of people or animals (figurative art is against the religion).

 No tourists. Just beautiful tile work, architecture, carpet, and

lights. It was intimate and unexpected, and we loved it.

Next unplanned stop was a coffee shop (not pictured). 

We had wanted to try Turkish coffee,

and so we did. Turkish coffee is not a 

particular blend. The name refers to how it’s prepared. 

Generally, fine coffee grounds are boiled in a pot. 

The coffee is served in tiny espresso cups, with the dregs 

settling to the bottom. That's right, it's not filtered!

 The coffee is strong and surprisingly palatable! 

After our walk around the non-Asian side, we
 returned across the bridge.

 Fishermen were shoulder-to-shoulder on this bridge, 
catching sardines.

 Hundreds of fishermen and thousands of sardines.

You got the sense that they did this everyday.

Although this is not tourist season, the Spice Market 
was mobbed. 
We’re sure there were plenty of “us,”

 but most looked like locals. We shuffled along,

 trying to keep an eye out for each other, so that 

we didn’t get hopelessly lost.

We bought a bunch of spices and Turkish Delight, 

which we recommend. If you just shuffle

and see the sights, it’s not nearly as 

fun as actually buying. (And this is coming 

from someone who is not much a shopper!)

Next: More shopping at the Grand Bazaar. 

Picture a warren of alleys, overflowing with

goods. It’s hard to imagine how many people 

it would take to buy all this stuff. Can merchants

actually make money here? We have never seen so 

much for sale. In fact, all of Istanbul, in

and out of the Bazaar and Spice Market, was 

simply bulging with stuff to buy.

“Assertively” hawking goods is a way of life here.

 But if you say “no thanks,” smile, and

don’t give further eye contact, they generally 

will leave you alone. Learning how to negotiate

hawkers is a process. Sometimes we’d set our 

jaw and stare straight ahead…. then we’d

feel guilty (“We are acting like rude Americans!”). 

Then we’d smile and be polite and chat

a little (but hope they'd leave us alone). 
And sometimes, we’d just break 

down and buy the 

dang map, bracelet, or whatever.

By the end of the day, as we hauled our bags of purchased “stuff,"

we started smiling at the hawkers and enjoyed their

 “creative approaches.”  A few of our favorite one-liners: “I have things inside my 

shop as beautiful as you.” “ Let me help you spend

your money.” “Let me help you buy something you don’t need.”

 “I have something you’ve never seen before.”

The end to another memorable trip!
 Hasta luego!